History Detectives: The Tudors

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Put your class’ investigation skills to the test with the second in our new interactive history series. This month, the children travel back in time to Tudor England

The story

The aim of our second interactive History Detectives game is to encourage children to use their investigation skills to help characters, Joe and Fabia, find the owner of an artefact from Tudor England. You can decide how to use the game to fit in with your teaching.

Joe and Fabia are best friends. This summer, they went to stay with Joe’s Uncle Frank. He lives in a big house with lots of rooms to explore, including an attic hosting a treasure trove of artefacts from his days as an archaeologist. Strange things happen in the attic. Joe and Fabia realise that when they touch certain artefacts, they are transported back in time and are challenged with a mission to find the artefact’s original owner.

How to begin

The interactive game this month is set in Stratford-upon-Avon during the Tudor era. The game uses fact and fiction to recreate a typical scene from the period. To begin, your class need to explore the attic to find the quill that will transport them back in time.

Transported back to Tudor England

Once the children have explored the attic and found that the quill transports them back to Stratford-upon-Avon during Tudor times, they must use the available tools to piece together who it belongs to. Joe’s uncle found the quill when excavating an old Tudor tavern. It was found in the pages of a very old book. The street scene is full of characters – four of them are the potential owner of the quill: a poor boy, a taxman, a playwright and a respectable lady.

Audio – hear my story: Children can click on the audio buttons next to the four main characters to hear their story and help them build a case for who the quill belongs to. They can then type information they think is important into the notepad. Print versions of the characters’ stories are also available on Activity sheet, ‘Detectives: Tudors—Character Stories’.

Clues: The question mark icon can be clicked on for clues based on factual information. The children must read them carefully as they will help to eliminate certain characters. Again, children can add details to the notepad. There is also the option to ‘Ask the expert’ - Archibald Dig - who will reveal more clues. Once the children have heard the characters’ stories, read the clues and asked the expert, they can start to build a case. They can then type their answer into the ‘answer’ box. If they are wrong, they will be prompted to go back to a certain clue or story to help them answer again. You must read the ‘Teachers’ notes’ and ‘How to play’ (see interactive resource) before the children play the game to ensure that you know who the owner is and how the other characters are eliminated.

Don’t forget you can also check out last month’s History Detectives interactive challenge – Roman Britain.